v-brakes....their simple,cheap,and work great.
I've gone over the handlebars on my bike during a "crash stop" and that's about the best(or worst) i can do.
Since then i've improved them with even better brake pads so i'm more carefull.......bugger the crash stops.

Some forks now warn not to use big disks or (any) hydraulics, because it's too much stress on the fork blade. If you have big or hydraulic brakes,,, on most bikes, you will see the fork and frame flex surprising amounts when you stop hard.
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Some fork companies now are putting the fork mounts on the front side of the fork blade, to prevent the axle from pulling out of the dropouts under hard braking. They all used to just assume that the "lawyer lips" on the fork dropouts would prevent this from happening, but it is turning out to not be true. :shock:

I wanted the best-possible brakes on my non-motor bikes because I have to ride them everywhere, even mixing with city traffic. ..... My motor-bike is only for casual suburban or rural cruising though; it has a drum front and coaster rear and that's enough for what I use it for.
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Does anyone have any experience of direct pull cantilever brakes. They are the ones that are installed at the moment. On a test I was very unimpressed but perhaps it's just down to adjustment, as they are a pain to adjust.

Perhaps people could post bad brake types and possible pitfalls to avoid when purchasing/fitting new brakes.

I'm still deciding what brakes to use ultimately on mine.

BSA

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I have a Sun motorized recumbent and I converted to V brakes on the back wheel and kept the disk up front. I really like that combo. I can stop quicker than the two disk and even quicker than my brothers bike which has V brakes all around.

I found that a good set of brake pads on the V brakes will allow me to stop well even in the rain.

I have built 2 custom bikes so far one my son rides and it has v brakes, Very good stopping power.
My own bike i went for cable discs, a lot softer braking, but for the dollar and efficency I would go with the v brake. The other thing to keep in mind is the rim. A groved ally rim with v brakes are great. Ask my boys about v brakes and the wet? It can be fun going into a gas station and pulling on the front brake, you tend to all sorts wonderful moves.

I wanted the best-possible brakes on my non-motor bikes because I have to ride them everywhere, even mixing with city traffic. .....
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Get some Shimano XT disc...they have, in my opinion, the best modulation and will stop a Mack truck even when wet. Another + about disc is that you will never have to worry about wearing through the sidewall of you rim.

iride ..would that be on a norco a line i rode my buds and i was scared of his brakes.i have cheaper disks on my other bike jamis .and my xt v brakes on my norco with mitsu will stop great with good pads even in wet and i always use double walled rims there heavy but i dont see any wear ever even on extreme motor use.

I couldn't vote the way I wanted, as I am fairly old school in my taste- yet I really love my Worksman set-up on the Schwinn/Whizzer:
HD coaster rear and drum front. Though honestly this is the first motored I've used a front brake on... I don't recommend that to anyone, but it's my way of it...

I put on a front disk and I thought no more worries until coming down from the mountains where I live, I discovered something that felt like brake fade. I touched the brake and it was really hot, enough to color the disk.

My reason for putting on the disk brake was that coming down the hills, I was afraid that the friction on the rim from my old front V-brake was enough to really heat up the rim.

Bicycle brakes are just that, designed to stop a normal bicycle. My engine and touring equipment adds another 50 pounds and I'm a big guy about 210 so I am hard on brakes. I also like to ride pretty fast down some pretty steep hills.

I have a drum brake in the rear that works pretty well, so I'm happy with that but I'm thinking in addition to the front disk, to put the V-brake back on in the front too. This way I always have a fresh brake in the front to use depending on conditions.